Moore Business Forms, Inc.

Agfa Corporation

Agfa Division, Bayer Corporation

Goss International Americas, Inc.

Moore U.s.a., Inc.

James C Folsom

Robert S Ring

Ross A Freeman

Laurence S Blake

Roger A Jacques

Gerald L Smith

Philip A Rombult

Libor N Krupica

David B Larsen

Glenn Alan Guaraldi

Glen Roger Caron

David L Cooper

Pedro Beildeck

Michael David Desfosses

John F Drehobl

Wayne Wilson

Robert E Godfrey

Thomas J Hoza

A pin conveyor for printed sheet material has a chain, a plurality of pins extending from the chain to push printed sheet material, and a receipt area for the printed sheet material, the chain and pins passing through the receipt area. The receipt area has at least one of the following a non-linear cross-section with the chain and pins passing through the receipt area, an inclined transport section of the chain, or a belt contacting the printed sheet material and running at or slower than a speed of the chain. A transfer unit with an overhead conveying unit and a method for delivering printed sheet material is also provided.

Pin conveyor for printed sheet material and transfer unit

A hopper assembly is provided including a hopper, a hopper base, the hopper being detachable from the hopper base, and a hopper shoe, the hopper shoe being fixable to the hopper and securable to the hopper base. A hopper assembly also is provided including a hopper, a first hopper base, and a second hopper base. The hopper is detachable from the first hopper base and movable to the second hopper base. A gathering device is also provided. A method is also provided.

Mobile hopper system

An apparatus is provided for positioning a plurality of cassettes within an automated printing plate handler. In a plate handler, a plurality of cassettes each contain a supply of printing plates for delivery to an automatic plate-recording device. The apparatus includes a separate support table for supporting each of the plurality of cassettes within the plate handler and an elevator device for moving each of the support tables along a vertical axis of the automated plate handler. The automated plate handler is configured to automatically position a selected cassette in a first position to facilitate removal of the cassette from the handler. The plate handler further includes a platform, which substantially forms an extension of the support table supporting the selected cassette in the first position. The platform provides a second position, at which the selected cassette is to be one of, loaded or unloaded. The selected cassette may be filled with a new supply of plates on the platform or the selected cassette may be removed from the platform and replaced by a another cassette.

Apparatus for loading and unloading a supply of plates in an automated plate handler

The primary function of the optional handler is to make plates available on demand to the imaging engine. A multitude of plates are stored inside cassettes and these cassettes are loaded into the handler. There may be up to four cassettes residing in the handler. Inside a cassette there may be a protective interleaf sheet, sometimes called a slip sheet, between each plate which is removed by the handler and discarded. The handler receives commands from the engine control sequencer which provides instructions as to what cassette needs to be accessed to make a plate available to the picker mechanism so the plate may be conveyed to the imaging engine. Conversely the handler provides status information to the engine to make full interaction with the system possible.

Method for loading and unloading a supply of plates in an automated

A stacker and cart are provided for vertically stacking forms fed from a printer, folder, or other mechanism, by a conveyor, which do not require tilting of the cart to allow offloading of the forms. The stacker has a housing with side walls parallel to and spaced from each other in a first dimension and a base which mounts the side walls so that they are inclined with respect to the vertical (e.g. about 15 degrees), tilted in a second dimension perpendicular to the first. A number of forms-supporting stacker tines are parallel to and spaced from each other in the first dimension, and an elevator mechanism moves the tines in unison generally vertically with respect to the side walls. A stacker cooperates with a cart, a part sensor mounted on or adjacent the stacker base, and a latch on the cart cooperating with a latching mechanism on the stacker. The cart has a forms engaging face making the same angle to the vertical as the stacker side walls, and cart tines extend outwardly from the face parallel to and spaced from each other in the first dimension and intermeshed with the stacker tines so that the stacker and cart tines do not interfere with each other as the stacker tines are moved by the elevator mechanism relative to the cart tines. The cart preferably has a second face and tines on the opposite side of a movable base from the first face and tines.

Forms stacker

Method and apparatus for an automated plate handler with elevator and

A variable cut sheet stacker has an internal stacking volume that is readily adjusted (in length, width and height) for a large variety of form sizes and thicknesses. First and second side members are spaced from each other horizontally and the positions between them can be adjusted, typically uniformly moved with respect to a central support. An inlet and support is provided in an inlet for the stacker, having a ramp, and an outlet end guide is adjustable with respect to the inlet end support. A top conveyor conveys cut sheets past the inlet support toward the outlet end guide in a first direction, and a bottom support is vertically spaced in an adjustable manner from the top conveyor for supporting cut sheets. The open interior volume defined by these elements is substantially a rectangular prism. The top conveyor includes a frame that is pivotable about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the first direction to move between a conveyance position and an adjustment-facilitating position. An eject device, in the form of a substantially-vertical paddle, mounted with each side member, is provided for movement with respect to the side members in the first direction to eject a stack of forms and then automatically stop.

Readily adjustable cut sheet stacker

Cassette for storing and accessing plates within an automated plate

Method and apparatus for an automated plate handler with slip sheet

The roll feed assembly includes a frame mounting a pair of vertical guides carrying vertically movable hoist assemblies. Each hoist assembly is motor-driven by a chain fixed at its opposite ends and disposed about a drive sprocket, and an idler sprocket carried by the frame. Each chain is also disposed about an idler sprocket and idler posts carried by the hoist assembly whereby rotary movement of the drive sprocket in opposite directions causes the hoist assembly to be raised or lowered along the vertical guide thereby raising the lowering the roll. A roll web tension and drive assembly is movable toward and away from the roll and carries a web for driving the roll. The roll web tension and drive assembly includes a roll drive movable therewith for engaging and driving the roll.

Paper roll hoist and unwind assembly

A direction of movement of substantially fiat elements, such as sheets or business forms, is changed about 90.degree., without rotation of the forms. Nip rolls receive the forms driven in a first direction and accelerate the forms to make them airborne until they hit an adjustable abutment on the opposite side of an endless belt conveyor from the nip rolls. The endless belt conveyor conveys the forms in a second horizontal direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The forms may be shingled when moved both in the first and second directions, or can be deshingled by controlling the aspect ratio of the forms, the ratio of speeds of the elements, and the degree of shingling.

Change of direction conveyance of paper sheets or business forms

A mounting device for mounting a machine element to a shaft, particularly in critical timing and high torque applications, is specifically adapted to be frequently assembled and disassembled without coming apart or in any way adversely affecting the operation of the mounting device. The mounting device includes an inner tubular element, an outer segmented tubular element, and a tubular nut. A through extending radial opening is provided in each segment of the outer element, and a circumferential groove in the outer surface of the inner element with first and second axially spaced radially extending walls. A collar (which may be the hub of a sprocket, gear, cam, pulley, roller, or other machine element) surrounds the outer element at the radial openings, and has its own radial openings through which a plurality of fasteners extend into the inner element circumferential groove, and are engageable with the radially extending walls to provide a stop for relative axial movement of the inner and outer elements with respect to each other. A disc connected to the nut allows the nut to be tightened without a wrench.

Mounting machine with ready transportability

In a conventional Bunch folder having a swing chute, beaters, spirals mounted for rotation about vertical axes, and a reciprocal cutting blade, a cut initiating device is provided. The cut initiating device initiates a cut (forms a knick) at the edge of a perforation between adjacent business forms to be severed from each other, so that the cutting blade may easily sever the forms completely at the perforation. The cut initiating device comprises a short horizontally extending blade mounted by a collar to a shaft of the spiral adjacent the cutting blade start position so that the blade is rotatable with the spiral for engaging the folding web at a perforation and forming a 1/16 to 1/2 inch cut in the perforation at an edge. The blade may have a horizontal cutting edge portion, a cantilevered portion at a different level than the cutting edge portion and a step portion interconnecting the cutting and cantilevered portions. A knick in the edge is formed at first predetermined intervals (e.g. every other fold perf), while complete severing by the reciprocal blade is practiced every 100 forms or so.

Growing community of inventors

Sanford, ME, United States of America

James C Folsom